Derby Talk

Derby Talk is a forum for Pinewood Derby, Awana Grand Prix, Kub Kar Rally, Shape N Race Derby, Space Derby, Raingutter Regatta and other similar races where a child and an adult work together to create a race vehicle and a lot of fun and memories

Hi, my name is Stephen Lajuwomi and I have some questions. I would really appreciate it if you would help me out.

I have participated in Pinewood Derby Races for about two or three different competitions. My dad wasn't of the greatest help to me or my siblings because he grew up in Nigeria and has never heard of Pinewood racing and doesn't really care about it. So we have been on our own.

This year I want to build a Lightning McQueen styled race car, and I have no idea how to go about it. I would also like to try and have a decently fast car with it as well, but from previous years I have had no success with speed.

From there read your rules very close to find out what you can or cannot do to improve the speed of your car .
Thing's like a longer wheel base .. or do you have to use the slots in the kit block or can you drill axle holes!
Or can you use light weight wheels and bent axles to set the car up to rail ride.

( If your unsure about your race rules ask your race chairman before you try any of these speed tip's in your design.)

Hi Stephen, Welcome to Derbytalk.
I would suggest you buy the book by Troy Thorne, Build a Winning Pinewood Derby Car. There's lots of pictures and it gives good advice. You will learn the basics of how to build a car for speed following science.
Are you racing in Cub Scouts? It would be nice if we knew your rules.

I am racing in the Awana Grand Prix. I believe you can still new axle holes, but there was nothing about rail riding and bent axles. I will ask them about what you said.

I saw Andy and Noah's design. I was confused on how they made the wheels look realistic. I thought maybe the built the body of Lighting and put it on the block to make it look realistic. But I'm not sure.

I saw Andy and Noah's design. I was confused on how they made the wheels look realistic. I thought maybe the built the body of Lighting and put it on the block to make it look realistic. But I'm not sure.

You can do wheel painting with a paint marker and some careful masking. Just be sure not to get any paint in or around the bore where the axle head will ride!

For that you need to cut fenders out of some additional wood and glue them to the sides. For a car like McQueen, these would likely be decorative fenders, as opposed to fenders designed to give you better aerodynamics. That said, the lighter you can make your fenders, the better you'll be able to optimize your weight placement for more speed.

For that you need to cut fenders out of some additional wood and glue them to the sides. For a car like McQueen, these would likely be decorative fenders, as opposed to fenders designed to give you better aerodynamics. That said, the lighter you can make your fenders, the better you'll be able to optimize your weight placement for more speed.

Wow! Stephen I told you there would be more chime in to help you out!
I'm glad for it.. were all for helping you out with your Lightning McQueen car from speed to design.

Stephen , after reading your post needing help last night .
I felt very compelled to share with you in photos how you can make this car design just by using a photo of it .

Here is a design I found on my I phone that I'll be using to draw out the car design on paper using the kit block to do so.

Before I start I'm going to show you two kit block types and where the axle notches locations could play a role in your chosen design.
The top block is from the kit type you said you'll be racing.. the next below is a BSA kit block see where the axles notches are between the kit types?

Using your kit block and a sheet of paper trace around the block and be sure to mark out the axle slots as well.
It should look like this when your done tracing the block.
Next take your wheels and place them on your pattern looking threw the wheel bores where the axles go in.
Line them up on your marked out notches on the pattern and trace your wheels all the way around them.

I'm going to share more pic's with you in several posting instead of one long one!

Last edited by whodathunkit on Mon Feb 05, 2018 10:00 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Okay here is where your free to do shapes on your pattern I'll start with the tail end. (note i switched ends on the pattern!)
Next draw a line above the wheels about 1" up from the bottom of the block.. this will be the area for your fender height.
Next move on to drawing out your front end hood and fender shape.
Then the cab shape.
Next move on to the fender shapes and wheel wells shapes.

Last edited by whodathunkit on Mon Feb 05, 2018 9:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Okay Stephen, are you ready for this?
Now that you have your pattern all drawn out.. The next steps are simple!
Cut out the top half of your pattern.. then fold the lower half of the pattern down.. on the axle notch side of the block.
Make sure your axle notches on the pattern line up with the notches on the kit block.. then trace the out lines on the block.
(note how I missed cutting out the tail end shape on my pattern? make sure to cut this shape out and trace it on the kit block as well!)
This is your car block shape.
Next cut out the fender shape of your pattern.
Here is where you are free to use light weight woods like balsa or bass wood to make your fenders.
You'll need two pieces of wood... size to be 7 1/2'' long by 2" tall and 3/8" thick.( note how in my pattern how there lower in the center of the car?)
You don't have to do this if you choose to keep it flush with the bottom of the car!
( If you do like how they hang down lower.. you'll want to make sure they don't rub on the track rails!) so a little more work is needed to bevel them back on the bottom.

Here is where clear tape is very handy.. it helps to hold the two pieces for your fenders together while cutting out there shape.
wrap the tape around them good from two different directions making sure the wood stays flush to one another.
You can trace your fender pattern out on one before taping .. or just tape it down as well like what is seen in the photo.

Last edited by whodathunkit on Mon Feb 05, 2018 10:39 pm, edited 5 times in total.

Okay Stephen!
After your done cutting out all the shapes in your block and fenders you should have sometime like this to work with.
Ready to see what it looks like with a fender placed on the kit block?
You'll want to trace around your fenders marking out where to glue them at.
Here is what it looks like if the fenders were glued on.. and where your free to do your sanding and shaping the rest of car design.

Well Stephen, I hope this helps you out and best luck with your car design!